


i know that you're scared because hearts get broken

by allwedontdo



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, carlos is a cutie and i love him, jay hates romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28184538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allwedontdo/pseuds/allwedontdo
Summary: Jay has always had a strong distaste for the reality love and romance. A huge buildup for something that would inevitably hurt you. He watched customers get stood up, broken up with, cheated on, all right in his coffee shop.A beautiful silver haired boy was never on the agenda.
Relationships: Jay/Carlos de Vil
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	i know that you're scared because hearts get broken

Coffee and bread have become Jay’s absolute favorite scent in the entire world. When he started his new barista job, he knew he was going to enjoy it but his dad always complained about the smell he wore home each evening. That happened to become his favorite scent because the café felt so much more like home. Jay had frequented the Auradon Coffee Bar before he finally applied and when he did, the manager, Jane, practically didn’t even take the application. She had just wanted to had over the uniform and have him start that day, but Jay insisted she look it over and actually make a decision, not that he didn’t know they were going to hire him anyway.

That was over a year ago and once he graduated high school just 2 months ago, he started working full time. Jane even wanted him to start training for manager because she was headed up to college in the fall, which he happily agreed to even though he had gotten looks from one of his coworkers that definitely had been working there much longer than he had.

Jay knew the coffee shop inside and out and very quickly noticed all of the regular customers. Doug always sat in the back corner flipping away at a book or typing like mad on his computer, occasionally his girlfriend meeting up with him. When Evie shows up, it’s the only time through the hours that he spends there that Jay hears his voice (besides taking his order). Harry always took the seat right at the window, never with anyone else but occasionally on the phone with someone Jay believes is named Uma. Ben and Mal frequent sometimes separately but almost always together. They sit together in a booth at the middle of the shop. Jay knows that they’ve arrived when his coworker, Audrey, scoffs. Audrey never actually dated Ben but she was definitely not a fan of Mal, so it was easy to conclude that Audrey’s affection had been unrequited.

Because Jay knew so much about the atmosphere and the customers it came with, he always took note of the new people, taking interest in their order, their attitude, style, and beyond. He was always curious about where they came from or why they decided to pop into such a hole in the wall place. Nothing in the café matched: chairs, tables, and even the overcrowded wall art and paint. It was a mess but Jay loved it like that and so did the customers. He loved hearing the compliments from people passing through.

He really did love everything about the Auradon Coffee Bar and he always felt excited to head into work. The only time he ever felt annoyed was when the inevitable romance aspect of coffee shops played into his work day. He definitely flirted with multiple of his customers, but it was the dates that just kept showing up. It was the saddest when someone got stood up, Jay having had to watch them come in so excited only to leave extremely sullen.

It’s not like Jay didn’t believe that love existed, he absolutely knew it did. He saw Mal and Ben together and Doug and Evie all mushy. They were always together, a unit. What he didn't understand about love was the painful parts. He watched Audrey pine after a boy that had already been in a long term relationship, he heard proclamations of love to people that Jay knew weren't the only ones, saw people get broken up with right in the middle of the shop, and even heard directly out of someone's mouth, I never loved you. He never saw the point if it hurt so much. He loved the idea of it though; What he read in books and saw on TV. Sure there were heartbreaks and messy relationships, but the ones where people just found each other and everything was passionate. That’s what Jay longed for, but what was the point if love wasn’t like the love depicted in stories or television? Why is it worth chasing if pain is such a huge part of it? It was something he didn’t care or know anything about and he didn’t intend on finding out. It wasn’t like he had a set of perfect parents at home to show him what love was supposed to look like in the real world. He only had a distant father that cared more for the material things in life than he would ever care for his own son. He could hardly conjure up a good group of long term friends (He tried not to pretend as if Mal and Evie along with their male counterparts were actually his friends. Jay only felt like a barista to them even if the four of them knew as much as any friends would about him and vice versa).

In the midst of his daze, staring off at the way Mal and Ben looked at each other (but attempting to look over the inventory list that Jane had given Jay from her mother, the owner), the bell at the front register rang out. Audrey was in the kitchen, taking the batch of cranberry pistachio biscotti out of the oven so Jay set the list down and left the back room, greeting the customer with the kind voice he wore in his everyday life. The boy standing at the register had completely silver hair, some natural black coming from his root, something Jay wouldn’t expect to look good but absolutely did. “Welcome to Auradon, what can I get started for you?” The boy was studying a menu intently that he had taken from the rack in front of him, flipping it front to back, before looking up at the larger chalk written menu above Jay’s head.

“Yeah, I’ll just have a medium pineapple smoothie, please.” The boy looked jittery, looking back at the door and at his phone constantly. Throughout his short career in coffee and customer service, Jay was easily able to read body language. The behavior that this customer portrayed pointed towards waiting for someone, but Jay wasn’t sure yet if it was a date or just a friend.

Ringing up the order, Jay responded, “Sure thing, anything else?” It was as if the boy hadn’t thought of that beforehand, suddenly tilting his head at Jay and then scurrying to look at the menu again and at the bakery case.

“Okay yeah. Yeah, actually. Can I also order a medium mint jasmine tea? And a croissant?” As Jay started to input the rest of the order, he was interrupted. “Wait. Or maybe- Should it be a chocolate croissant? Or just like a cookie? No, no- it’s like ten-thirty in the morning, I don’t think it’s a cookie type time right now.” The boy began to ramble mostly to himself and Jay could now conclude that this kid was on a first date, a complete nervous wreck. It was a shame too, because Jay was actually considering writing a smiley face on his cup just as a flirty notion as he had done to customers in the past. The boy was extremely cute and Jay would’ve been a fool not to notice. He knew love and attraction were separate things. Jay didn't need anything but to give a flirty compliment for him to be satisfied. “Okay, what do you think someone that would date me would want?” It’s not uncommon for customers to ask for recommendations but this one took a moment for Jay to process and think through. “Sorry, that was so weird-“

Jay chuckled under his breath and interrupted what he could only assume would’ve been more rambling from the boy's pretty mouth, “How about a slice of lemon bread? It’s simple and sweet but not too buttery like the croissants would be or too sweet like a cookie.” The silver hair bounced as he nodded and plastered a huge grin across his wide lips, a look that sent an alert into Jay’s brain to stare, but he forced himself not to.

“Yes, yes. You’re right, that’s perfect. Great idea. That’s why you work here. Yes, the two drinks and whatever you just said is great.” Jay gave him a wide smile, thoroughly being entertained by this boy’s entire demeanor.

“What’s your name for the order?”

“Carlos.” Ringing Carlos up was a challenge as well because he now had to dig through his pockets looking for a wallet and when that wallet was found, he had to now search all of the pouches for his debit card. Jay tried hard not to laugh at his stressed and struggling existence, so he tried to rush through the last portion of the order.

Soon, the silver haired boy was sitting at a table in the middle of the shop with one extra chair, lemon bread and drink sitting in front of that empty seat. He faced the front door and waited. Jay couldn’t help but watch him, peaking under his eyelashes every few minutes just to see what type of girl that he was interested in or that he would make such a huge fuss for. She absolutely had to be the most gorgeous girl that Jay has ever seen, considering Carlos’s face was enough to send Jay into cardiac arrest. 

But she never came.

The day had moved on normally for Jay and Audrey, ringing up customers and cleaning up spills per usual, but Jay couldn’t help but continuously check to see if the empty chair was ever taken. The nervous light of excitement that Jay saw in Carlos when he entered began to dim as the hours went by. He couldn’t say he was surprised to see that the boy was still waiting after an hour or so, but he was once the clock struck 1pm. And then 2pm. And then 3pm.

Auradon was only open until 5pm and as the clock struck 4:50pm, Carlos was still there, staring at his empty cup and the cold tea across from him. The bread was nibbled on but for the most part, hadn’t been touched. The bright smile that had been present when he arrived so many hours ago was completely gone and he was slouched over, drawing shapes with his finger on the table. Jay and Audrey kept looking at each other and then over at him again as the clock ticked on towards closing. They hated having to kick people out but this one was a different level. Audrey and him had started wiping tables and lifting chairs onto them, signaling closing but Carlos didn’t move, just left his head being held up by his fist. Audrey gave Jay a look and then began to walk over but Jay stopped her, telling her without speaking to let him handle it. Audrey was far too straight forward for her own good and he knew she wouldn’t be gentle, so he finally bit the bullet and walked over.

“Hey dude, so it’s five to close. We’re starting to lock up.” Carlos barely looked at him before nodding and starting to pick up his silent phone. “Thanks,” was all Jay managed to mumble as he walked away, mind swirling in the discomfort. Before he knew it, the front bell rang and the boy was out the door.

“That was so sad,” Audrey sighed out, still lifting the last chairs to their respective tables as Jay began counting the till. Audrey flipped off the blinking Open sign and walked back to Jay’s counting.

Jay shrugged, “There have been worse.” And there have been. There have been loud and public breakups right in the middle of the shop, which always had a large impact on Jay’s distaste for love and romance. Why get into something that’s supposed to make you feel good only to get publicly humiliated? Mal and Ben were even that couple at one point, but they’ve since resolved their deep underlying issues and have been great ever since. After the money had been counted and counters wiped clean, Jay threw off his apron and gathered up the leftover pastries. “Do you want to take any home with you?” He asked Audrey but she just shook her head and looked back out the window.

“He’s still here,” she commented.

“The date guy?” Audrey nodded, watching him through the glass with the name of their shop written across it. Jay grabbed the keys and threw the pastry bag over his shoulder as he made his way towards the door. Audrey exited first, shutting the lights all off and not waiting for Jay to lock up before walking to her car. After he jiggled the knob to double check that it was secure, he stuck his neck out to see Carlos sitting on the bench right outside. Jay didn’t want to interact, not wanting to overstep as an employee who just watched this man's heart break but he wondered what he was still doing there. Was he holding out hope still that this girl would show up? “Hey,” Jay greeted awkwardly. Carlos looked up and tried to respond with a smile. “Everything okay? Waiting for that date still?” He blushed red and Jay felt bad for asking.

“Uh, no. No, I’m done with that. He didn’t even both to text me.” The ‘he’ stuck out to Jay and he started to re-piece together the vision he had of this man's date. “No, I’m just waiting for a ride. We were supposed to catch a movie like two hours ago, but he said he would drive since my car is in the shop right now. I walked here originally, I- uh- don’t really feel like being alone.” Jay felt bad for the kid, not even being able to imagine ever just standing someone up, date or friend. It’s just not something you do to a person.

“May I?” Jay asked, gesturing towards the empty space on the bench next to him. The boy—Jay couldn’t keep his eyes off of the freckles that were haphazardly splattered across his face—just scooched over. He sat down and extended his hand. “Sorry about what happened. That’s not cool. I’m uh- I’m Jay.” Carlos took it loosely.

“Carlos. Um- Sorry for taking up a table for five hours.” Jay didn’t want to tell him that he remembered his name from that morning. He just liked hearing his voice.

Jay chuckled and shook his head. “I think it may have been closer to six.” Carlos dropped his head in shame but a small smile still presented on his lips, which Jay also couldn’t stop staring at and thinking about but he focused hard on his brown eyes instead. “Do you want something to eat?” Jay presented his trash bag full of pastries.

“Why do you have all of this?” Jay opened the bag and allowed Carlos to see what was inside, inviting him to anything he wanted.

“We make everything fresh and by policy we can’t serve any day old food, so we have to either take it home or dump it. Dumping it isn’t an option to me.”

Carlos nodded and grabbed a chocolate croissant, biting into it and just humming in pleasure. “Do you just stock pile all of these at your house then?” Jay shook his head, but took a cold ham and cheese croissant out of the bag too for himself.

“I usually try and stop by the homeless shelter a few blocks down just to drop some off. They don’t have too many donations right now for just like snacks, so I try to give what I can.” Carlos eyed him curiously. Jay pretended not to notice, feeling weird under the gaze of this specific boy. He felt his heart racing under his t-shirt. He was used to people flirting with him as a barista but something about Carlos made the hair on his arms stand up.

Carlos slid a hand through his silver hair and hummed, “Maybe I should have gone on a date with someone like you.” The boy said it quietly, almost as if it wasn’t supposed to be spoken at all but Jay still felt a lump form in his throat and an unpreventable smile formed. It felt almost like a cyclone washed from his cheeks to his feet. Headlights washed against Carlos’ skin and they both looked at a car that had just pulled up. “That’s me. Thanks for your croissant and your hospitality.” Carlos stood up and mocked a bow to Jay before gesturing up at the coffee shops sign. “This is a really nice place. Has some really nice workers too.” The boy winked, turned, got into the car, and sped off, leaving Jay a puddle of heartache(?) and confusion


End file.
